Robert Kirkman reveals plans for wild new Walking Dead prequel

The third season of The Walking Dead will introduce the Governor (David Morrissey), one of the most famed characters from the comics—and creator Robert Kirkman wants to make sure we know everything we need to about the psychopathic dictator. Lucky for us, the zombie mastermind has a brand-new prequel project in the works.

Kirkman has previously teamed up with author Jay Bonansinga for the prequel novel The Rise of the Governor, and the duo recently wrapped up the sequel The Road to Woodbury. Both novels track the early years of the Governor, as Kirkman hopes to provide some context about how he became the man we met (and will meet) in the comics and TV series.

Of course, if you're a fan, you already knew that. But what you probably didn't know is that Kirkman also has a third book in the works—which is set to catch up with the comic continuity and feature all the characters we know and love.

"Yeah. I don't want to reveal it, but I'm pretty excited about the third one because the plot's gonna... Ah, I'll go ahead and say it: The second novel progresses the Governor's timeline a lot more and is getting you closer and closer to the events that occurred in the comic book series. And so some of the events in the comic book series are actually going to appear in the third novel. The third novel is going to be a whole new story but you're actually going to get to see Rick Grimes and Michonne and some of the other characters, which you haven't seen in the novel series thus far."

With The Walking Dead, Kirkman knows he has a monster hit on his hands. The TV show is one of the biggest on television, while the comics have found a resurgent following amid the buzz. It's not surprising to see books follow suit to expand the universe. But, lucky for us, they're not just cash-ins. The books have received solid reviews, and Kirkman goes to meticulous lengths to make sure they fit in perfectly with the established canon.

But, he also wants to add some depth to one of the series' greatest villains. His ultimate goal? To make you feel sorry for the worst person on the planet:

"One of the things that interests me the most about the Walking Dead is that we here in this world read these stories and we go, 'Okay, this person's evil, this person is doing bad things, this person is clearly a villain.' But when you try to empathize with what these people are living for, what they're going through, and how their world view is changing... look, many of the things that the Governor does are indefensible and basically evil. But, for the most part, the majority of the decisions he's making and the actions he's taking are the kind of things that you would have to do to be a leader in this world. That's a little terrifying and it's supposed to be a little uncomfortable but, you know, there's definitely a lot of grey areas going on in this guy's life."

What do you think of Kirkman's Governor novels? Have you been reading along?